Nike apologizes for sneaker named after terror group

Irish consumers are reportedly outraged over a Nike shoe called the “Black and Tan” SB low dunk, which the company plans to release on Mar. 17—St. Patrick’s Day. According to the SneakerFiles blog, the shoe is named for the popular beverage, which is a combination of Guinness and a lighter-colored beer, usually a Bass Pale Ale or Harp Lager.

Problem is, the Black and Tans are also a paramilitary group that terrorized Ireland after World War I. “It would be the American equivalent of calling a sneaker ‘the al-Qaeda,” Ciaran Staunton, President of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, told Irishcentral.com. “Is there no one at Nike able to Google Black and Tan?”

A Nike spokesperson told PR Daily that the shoe has been “unofficially
named by some using a phrase that can be viewed as inappropriate and
insensitive.”

"We apologize," the spokesperson added. "No offense
was intended."

If this controversy sounds familiar, it’s because Ben & Jerry’s caught flak in 2006 for releasing an ice cream flavor called Black and Tan. The company later apologized.